Paper unit dispensing device



y 9, 1940- F. G. STEINER PAPER UNIT DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Aug. 29, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 fiwezzfar y NKGJTE/IVEK ATT RNEYS F. G. STEIN ER PAPER UNIT DISPENSING DEVICE July 9, 1940.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 29, 1936 H62 frz l/enz or G. JTEl/VER FEM/K ATTOZNE Y6 y 1940. F. G. STEINER PAPER UNIT DISPENSING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 29, 1936 fm/erzz or ATToENEKs' Patented July 9, 1940 .UNlTED STATES ext-rear orries Application August 29, 1936, Serial No. 98,531

16 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in pa-.

per dispensing devices or cabinets and has found valuable application-for dispensing paper drying units.

This invention is in part an improvement over that disclosed in my co-pending application No. 40,794 for Paper unit dispensing device, but includes in addition features believed to be broadly new in this art.

Among the objects of the invention are: to provide a type of tear-off knife which-will avoid the formation of an ear on the towel, due to incomplete action of the tearing knife; to provide means for relieving tension on the feeding rolls to allow the paper to straighten out; to provide a delivery orifice of such character as to prevent jamming of the paper therein and facilitate separation of the paper by the knife; to provide.

20, means whereby assembly or disassembly of the provide a simplified type of back-off mechanism; and generally to provide a simple, eflicient and relatively inexpensive type of cabinet for the purposes set forth.

Objects of the invention include all details of construction, along with the broader ideas of means inherent in the disclosure.

Objects, features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description of the drawings forming part of this application; and

in said drawings Figure l is a vertical transverse section taken approximately on line l-l of Figure 2 showing the forward edge of the paper positioned as after tear-off;

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section taken approximately on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1 illustrating the structure of the delivery opening and its relation to the knife;

Figure 4 is a front elevation additionally illustrating the delivery opening;

Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section on line 5--5 of Figure 2 showing the time-stop mechanism in stopping position, and as at the beginning of the timing period;

Figure 6 is a horizontal section illustrating the measuring roll assembly;

Figure 7 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 'l'! of Figure 6, illustrating the back-off mechanism;

Figure 8 is a side elevation partly in section further illustrating the relation of the paper to j the tear-off knife, before tear-off; and

roll and its related parts can be easily made; to

Figure 9 is a view of the knife showing how some of the teeth are slightly bent.

Referring now to the drawings: Numeral I generally indicates the outer casing of the cabinet, having a top 2, a rear wall 3, a bottom wall l and a hinged front 5. The hinge for'the front 5 is at the bottom and is indicated by the numeral 8. This hinged front has side flanges l which overlap the sides 8 of the casing as best shown in Figure 6. The top edge It of the hinged front 5 and the bottom edge II of the top 2, in part define an elongated delivery slot, the opposite end portions of which are completed by elements It of a plate [5, see Figures 1, 3 and '7. This plate has, see Figures 3, 4 and 9, at each opposite end, an outwardly or laterally flared and transversely curved bent-up portion 16. Referring to Figure 4 each element It is related to the forward edge In of the door 5 as shown. The rounded and outwardly flared portion is indicated at I! and is an important feature of the invention. The elements I6 are received by slots l8, (see Figure 5) of vertically disposed mounting plates 20 suitably spaced from the ends 8 of the casing and suitably securedby fastening devices 2|, as best shown in- ,Figures 2, 5 and 6. The plate l5 has suitable projecting ears at opposite edges, which pass through openings in the plates 20, and is further secured by bolts and nuts as at 23.

The above described delivery opening with outwardly flared and curved ends is a feature. Many users. tear sideways from leftto right. In some previous types of cabinets the paper often engages in a crack between the door and the top of the cabinet, and a small piece of paper is torn off to lodge in this crack. The paper thus accumulated, tends to interfere with the free feeding of the next portion of paper and "causes jamming. When the ends of the delivery opening are made smooth, and are flared and rounded, no toweling is caught or torn and therefore the delivery path is free at all times.

The element I5 or an extension or extensions thereof, form with other elements below described, a'guide throat leading from a pair of rolls, with which the paper is in frictional relation, to the exit or delivery opening.

One of the rolls, the measuring roll, is indicated at-3il and is provided with a series of grooves 3|, the roll being journalled in a novel manner hereinafter to be described. Cooperative with the roller 30 is a second roll 32 yieldably pressed against the roll 30 by means of springs 33 acting right.

on trunnions 34 of the roll, which trunnions traverse horizontal slots 35 of the plates 20.

The plate I5 is provided at its rear with an angularly disposed downward extension having a series of depending fingers 36 which lie within grooves 31 of roll 32. Mounted on the plate l5, and attached to the downward extension, and extended upwardly therefrom, and from the plate is a tear-off knife generally indicated at 38. The construction of this tear-off knife is a feature of the invention and it is noted that the intermediate portion 39 thereof is less elevated than the remaining portions, that is the toothed tear-off edge is concavely curved, and that the concavity faces upward. The more intermediately disposed teeth are bent rearwardly or in a direction away from the delivery opening, as shown at 40, see Figures 1 and 9.

The use of a curved tear-off knife or blade, whether it be a serrated blade as herein shown, or whether it be a relatively smooth blade is a distinct improvement in this art. Many users grasp one corner of the paper towel, say the left hand corner, and pull it downwardly and to the The severing of the paper thus starts at the left hand side where it is first forced against the knife, but because of the character of the distribution of the pressure at the right side of the sheet, there is a tendency to raise the upper right hand side of the sheet off of the knife so that when the tear reaches the right hand corner there is no pressure on the knife and the paper towel comes out with an ear on it, that is with a projecting part which is torn off of the forwardmost part of the supply. The

production of an ear is avoided by having the intermediate portion of the tear-off edge of the blade less elevated than the remaining portions An additional upwardly arched element 4| is provided which is associated with the element l 5 in a manner to form a throat which leads from the rolls 30 and 32, upwardly, and thence downwardly to the delivery opening. This element 4| is suitably held in the plates 20, see Figure 5, as by extensions or lugs 43 passing through openings in the plates. The upper edge of the knife 4!! lies above the delivery orifice and above the meeting point of the rolls, and is so disposed that after the paper assumes the relation shown in Figure 8 a down or an up pull thereon may be used for severing. The feature is disclosed in my above mentioned co-pending application. The knife is detachably secured in any suitable manner in this instance by screws, and the element 4| is provided with fingers 44 which extend into grooves 3| of the roll 36. Fingers 36 and 44 act to prevent rolling of the paper around the rolls and also act to guide the paper upwardly and forwardly through the throat to the delivery opening.

The knife is so placed in relation to the upper edge of the delivery opening and to the friction rolls that no matter how the user pulls on the paper, whether down. straight out or up, the paper assumes tear-off relation with theknife. By this arrangement it is impossible to pull more paper out of the cabinet than the allowed amount. As soon as one pulls the :paper it comes in contact with the knife and thus the user is forced, if he wishes more paper, to obtain it by manually operating the roll, in this instance by turning the crank. The moment he starts to pull on the toweling it tears off.

Another feature of the invention relates to the button 48, or its equivalent, see Figures 6 and 8, arranged about midway of the length of the roll and adapted to periodically separate the rolls as they revolve. This important feature includes the use of a button or thumb tack. The device has the following advantage: When the cabinet is first loaded, the paper is not always placed properly, or when the towel supply is nearly exhausted the weight of the roll is decreased to such an extent that there is practically no tension on the toweling or web, between the supply roll and the feed rolls. The toweling then travels to one side or the other of the cabinet, and becomes wrinkled or folded over, and tends to clog, or to be very unsightly, after it is fed out of the cabinet. As the thumb tack engages the tension roll it moves the roll away from the feed roll, thus substantially reducing the area of feeding contact between the rolls, and freeing the paper sufficiently to allow it to rock and to straighten or take its normal position, which it cannot do when held tightly between the rolls with the full friction surface of the two rolls acting upon ,it.

Another feature of the invention relates to the scheme for mounting the measuring roll 30. Referring first to Figure 6, numeral 50 indicates a tubular trunnion socketed in one end of the roll and traversing one plate 26, and the numeral 5| indicates a tubular trunnion socketed in the opposite end of the roll and traversing the other plate 26. The outer end tubular trunnion 50 abuts the side wall 8 of the casing as shown, and the inner end of the trunnion abuts the inner end of the bore 52. Within the trunnion 50 and traversing an opening 55 of the side wall 8 is a shank 56 of an operating crank, the handdle of which is shown at 51. The shank 56 and the tubular trunnion '50 are held against rotation and translation by a single screw 58 which traverses a radial bore of the roll 30 as shown.

. This screw traverses an opening in the tubular trunnion and enters into a depression or socket in the shank 56.

Associated with the tubular trunnion 5| at the opposite end of the roll is a stop mechanism which includes a stub shaft 60 having thereon a stop arm 6|. Attached to the end of the roll 36 is a disk 62, see also Figure '7, traversed by the stub shaft and forming part of a back-off mechanism later to be described. The disk is suitably held by screws. The trunnion 5| and stub shaft 66 are held in operative position by a screw 63 arranged and acting in substantially the same manner as the screw 58 at the opposite end of the roll. Disassembly of the roll is in part accomplished by withdrawing the screws 58-63 and sliding the trunnion 5| and its associated element 66 outwardly.

Referring to Figure 5, the time stop mechanism, best shown in Figure 5, is of a general type heretofore known in this art and is not claimed per se herein. It includes the stop arm 6| cooperating with a slide stop 10 in the manner shown in Figure 5, to limit rotation of the measuring roll. The timer stem is indicated at H and the timer barrel at 12. The barrel is suitably fastened to plate 26. A suitable connection is made at 13 between the slide stop 10 and the timer stem H. In this type of mechanism the arm 6| during its rotation to stop position conditions the timer for timing, by raising the stem, by means of a link 15 pivoted to the slide stop as at 16 and having a slot 11 through which a pin 18 passes which pin is connected to the arm 6|. After the stop has moved from the'position shown in Figure 5, to the dot-and-dash line or lowermost position, the roll 30 is released for movement by the crank. When the timer stem H has moved by gravity to its lowermost position the upper end of the slot 77 is so relatedvto the pin 18 that during a half rotation of the roll to the dot-and-dash line position, the timer is set due to the engagement of the pin 18 with the upper end of the slot 11. This structure is symbolic of any suitable timing means in the general combination. The arrangement in connection with stub shaft 60 and its arm is claimed herein in conjunction with the assembly scheme for the roll 30.

To avoid friction between the slide stop 19 and the arm, which friction would interfere with the proper timing operation, means is provided to back off the stop arm 6| immediately after impact with the slide stop 70. The disk 62, see Figures 6 and 7, is part of this backoff mechanism.

This disk performs the double function of prevnting wrong direction of rotation of the feed roll and for cooperating with the spring arm 80 to perform the backoff operation. Referring to Figure 7, the arm 80 is urged by spring 8! in direction of the arrow and the arm has a roller 82 which rides on the periphery of the disk 62 and engages a projection 83 of the disk or is engaged thereby at the end of the feed operation and immediately after the stops have engaged as shown in Figure 5. In thisinstance the projection 83 is interposed between and is in the same plane with the teeth 85, and this is a feature along with a broader feature of using a single disk for backoif and prevent reverse rotation of the roll. Reverse rotation is prevented by a pawl 84 engaging the ratchet teeth 85. The mechanism is positioned in Figure 7, as at the beginning of backoif action, the pawl being at this time so positioned as to allow slight reverse motion of the roll' 30, and therefore of the arm 61.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a paper dispensing apparatus in which the paper is in frictional relation with two rolls, one of which is yieldably pressed against the other, means occupying a relatively small area of and projecting outwardly from the working surface of one of the rolls and acting to periodically separate the rolls as they revolve.

2. In a paper dispensing apparatus in which the paper is in frictional relation with two rolls, one of which is yieldably pressed against the other, a button of a relatively small area placed at about the middle of one of the rolls for periodically separating the rolls as they revolve.

3. In a paper dispensing apparatus which has an elongated delivery opening outwardly through which the paper is accessibly projected, a tear-off blade paralleling said opening and adjacent thereto, the middle portion of the tear-01f edge of said blade being less elevated than the remaining portions, and said blade being so positioned that the paper may be severed by an up or down pull thereon after projection through the openmg.

4;. In a paper dispensing apparatus which has an elongated opening outwardly through which the paper passes to an accessible position, a tearoff blade in parallel relation with and adjacent said opening and with which the paper assumes tear-01f relation when projected outwardly through the opening, the opposite terminal portions of the opening being rounded and being flared laterally in a direction away from one another, .and being adjacent the ends of said blade.

5. A paper dispensing apparatus having a roll with which the toweling is in friction relation, a pair of supports between which the rollis disposed, means journalling the roll in the supports including a socket in the roll, a tubular journal member in said socket and having a bearing in one of the supports, an operating member extending within the tubular member, and means in the roll and traversing the said tubular member, and engaging the operating member toreleasably secure both.

6. A paper dispensing apparatus having a roll with which the toweling is in friction relation, a pair of supports between which the roll is disposed, means journalling the roll in the supports including a tubular trunnion removably,

a pair of supports between which the roll is disposed, means journalling the roll in the supports including tubular trunnions each removably socketed in the roll and traversing the corresponding support, a stub shaft extending within one of the trunnions, means on the roll and traversing that trunnion and engaging the shaft to secure both trunnion and shaft, a crank 'for the roll having a shank portion within the other trunnion, and means releasably securing the last mentioned trunnion and shank in a manner similar to that of the first mentioned trunnion.

8. In a sheet dispensing apparatus. having a roll with which the sheet is in frictional engagement and which is concerned in dispensing the sheet, a stop mechanism for the roll and means by which the roll controls it, said stop mecha nism having first and second stops, the first of which is controlled by the roll to impinge the second, and the second of which must be free to move after engagement by the first, means for preventing substantial reverse motion of the roll but permitting sufiicient reverse rotation to retract the first stop after impingement with the second, and including a ratchet wheel, and means for automatically reversing the roll, and acting on a part carried by said ratchet wheel to obtain said reversing movement.

9. In a sheet dispensing apparatus having a roll with which the sheet is in frictional engagement and which is concerned in dispensing the sheet, a stop mechanism for the roll and means by which the roll controls it, said stop mechanism having first and second stops the first of which is controlled by the roll to impinge the second, and the second of which must be free to move after engagement by the first, means for preventing substantial reverse motion of the roll but permitting sufiicient reverse rotation to retract the first stop after impingement with the second, and including a ratchet wheel, means for automatically reversing the roll, and acting on a part carried by said ratchet wheel to obtain said reversing movement, and said part being interposed between and in the same plane with the teeth of said ratchet wheel.

10. A towel dispensing apparatus having a roll with which the toweling is in friction relation, a

pair of supports between which the roll is disposed, means journalling the roll in the supports including a socket in the roll, a tubular journal member in said socket having a bearing in one of the supports, an operating member extending within the tubular member, and means in the roll and traversing said tubular member and engaging the operating member to releasably secure both.

11. A paper dispensing apparatus which has an elongated opening outwardly through which the paper passes to accessible position, means for feeding the paper toward the opening, a support between the feeding means and the opening, a tear-off knife on said support, said support having outwardly laterally flared and transversely curved portions associated with the ends of said opening to direct the paper therethrough.

12. A paper dispensing apparatus which has an elongated opening outwardly through which the paper passes to accessible position, means for feeding the paper toward the opening, a support between the feeding means and the opening, a tear-off knife on said support, said support having outwardly laterally flared and transversely curved portions associated with the ends of said opening to direct the paper therethrough and elements in the cabinet between which said support lies and within which said rounded and flared portions are fitted.

13. A paper dispensing cabinet having a delivery opening, a blade having a tear-off edge in tear-off relation with which the paper is disposed when projected out of the opening so that the paper is adapted to be severed by a pull on it by the user, the intermediate portion of the tear-off edge of said blade being concavely curved and less elevated than the remaining portions.

14. In a paper dispensing apparatus which has, an elongated opening outwardly through which the paper passes to an accessible positon, a blade having a tear-off edge adjacent and. substantially in parallel relation with said opening and with which the paper is in tear-off relation when projected through the opening, said opening being at a level below said tear-off edge, the opposite terminal portions of said opening being rounded and being flared laterally in a direction away from one another and said flared and rounded portions lying adjacent the ends of said tear-off edge.

15. A sheet dispensing apparatus having a delivery opening through which a sheet is delivered from between first and second feed rolls, a knife support so arranged that paper is fed upwardly to it by the rolls, a sheet-guiding member forming an arch which extends from a point near the meeting point of the rolls, thence upwardly and over the' knife support, thence downwardly to direct the paper through the delivery opening, a portion of said knife support and of said sheet-guiding member together forming a throat leading upwardly from the meeting point of the rolls.

16. In a paper dispensing apparatus which has an elongated delivery opening outwardly through which the paper is accessibly projected, a blade having a toothed tear-off edge paralleling said opening, feeding means by which the paper is fed over said edge from a point rearwardly or inwardly of the blade, thence through the opening to be so positioned that a pull on the paper by the user severs it, the middle portion of said edge being made less elevated than the remaining portions, and being so made by a graduated bending the teeth toward the paper and away from the opening.

FRANK G. STEINER. 

